Infographic: Online Content Creation

It's always a bit overwhelming to think about how much information is added to, and available through, the Internet.
This infographic provides numbers per minute.

From Pinfographics page on Pinterest.

Is Tumblr for TV?

In a lengthy post on Lost Remote,  Nathan Edelsburg recalled his earlier post on how TV could utilize the Tumblr microblogging and social network service to generate social buzz, as well as to get a glimpse at audience reactions to their content.  Now, with Tumblr passing the milestones of 50 million blogs and 20 billion blog posts, he took another look at where Tumblr fits into the emerging social TV landscape.
  Tumblr itself is partnering with the creative people in the TV industry, according to Tumblr's Director of Partnership Development, Rachel Webber. The goal of partnerships is to "help them translate the really great things they do every day and the stories they want to tell to a form that resonates with the Tumblr audience."  Pointing to successes like HBO's Game of Thrones site (dedicated to fan art) and BBC America's Doctor Who blog (collects and redistributes fan fiction and fan art), Webber talked about the opportunity to connect with fans, and foster greater engagement with them.  But she also warned that Tumblr was different, with a strong focus on creativity and interaction, rather than a straightforward promotional site.
  The whole post is worth a read, but my uptake is that Tumblr is most effective at fan engagement - particularly with the active fan who explores a program's universe and creatively contributes to it.

Source -  How TV can leverage Tumblr for social buzz and analysis,  Lost Remote

App for UGC online magazines

Post contributed by Clara Reed -


“Create Your Own Magazine”
  Adding another innovation to the Web 2.0 world, YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steven Chen are working on a new project known as “Zeen.” This app will allow users to “discover & create beautiful magazines.” Not much is known yet about Hurley and Chen’s latest venture, but it is rumored that an announcement about the site will be made at The Next Web Conference later this month.
  With hits like Pinterest, Zeen is believed to be a sort of creative “sharing site with a DIY twist.” Those of us with a creative mind will be able to make our own virtual magazine tailored to individual preferences.
  As of now, Zeen’s website features a box where you can request a username and reads “Coming soon” below the name and phrase stating the purpose of the site. '
  While websites like Pinterest, Flickr and Tumblr have been successful, it’s hard to say if the launch of Zeen will be as ground breaking, but with more and more people wanting to produce original content, it could provide another outlet for people to do so.

Source: Zeen: New Magazine-Creating App,  Bangstyle blog

BJB - some editing for style

CNN Lays off 50, blames technology, audience

It's being reported that CNN will be laying off some 50 editorial staffers, primarily in the Atlanta headquarters.  In laying the blame on technology and audience shifts, CNN SVP Jack Womack took a slightly different approach, apparently arguing in an internal memo that social media and user generated content has made the network "less reliant on editorial staffers, particularly photojournalists."  Referencing a three-year internal review of it's "workflow", Womack reportedly wrote that CNN’s review found that user-generated content, through CNN iReport, and social media in general did a fine enough job in producing and distributing breaking news stories. Womack’s memo indicated the review showed less need for staff photojournalists, as well as recommending changes in how photojournalists were assigned stories.

So CNN is now outsourcing its reporting to the public (or at least some of it).  Any guess what the impact will be on CNN's credibility and integrity?

Sources - CNN Lays Off 50 Staffers, Citing ‘Workflow Changes,’ Reliance On User-Gen,  paidContent.org
Dozens of Jobs Cut at CNN; New York, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Miami, LA Staffers Pink-Slipped,  TVNewser

IPTV Challenges Cable

More news on the emerging transition in TV from traditional broadcasting and multichannel services to IPTV..

Netflix is emerging as a driving force pushing IPTV.  A new study shows that Netflix users are twice as likely (this year as compared to last) to degrade or cancel cable subscriptions.  Meanwhile, content licensing is becoming more competitive, with Netflix making exclusive deals for TV programming.  While cable creates walled gardens limiting access to other services, and touts "TV everywhere" at some point in the future, Netflix is already there, with its service offered on more than 250 devices, some of which offer a dedicated Netflix button on the remote..
Meanwhile, a new report from Nielsen concludes that there's a new trend in homes with both TV and Interent access shows that

the lightest traditional television users streaming significantly more Internet video via their computers, and the heaviest streamers under-indexing for traditional TV viewership.  This behavior is led by those ages 18-34... while certain segments of the population are migrating toward specific services and viewing habits, the resounding trend is (for slight increases in total viewing across screens)

Nielsen's new C3 ratings are also showing significant numbers of additional viewers coming from online viewing.  A CNN executive reported that more than 50 individual telecasts saw significant ratings improvements with the addition of online viewers.
To pile on the bad news for traditional TV, a new Harris Interactive Poll for Adweek looked at media and online video use and attitudes towards the Internet's relationship to TV.  The results showed broad increases in online video use, with 77% indicating they've watched shows online.  Use was highest in the 18-34 demographic (at 88%), but remained high for all demographic segments, all the way through the 55+ segment (64% have watched).  In addition, about half indicated that they have watched shows online that they had not previously seen on TV, suggesting expanding choice options online.  Wide adoption of online video makes IPTV a stronger competitor to cable and DBS services.  In fact, 44% of respondents said they would cancel cable if they could get the shows they liked online for free.  That number falls to 16% if their shows were only available online for a small fee.  Still, at a time when cable has been losing subscribers consistently for years, and IP-delivered video choices are increasing (with AT&T's U-verse and the rise of streaming providers), of  it's not good news for cable and DBS.
If this wasn't bad enough, consider the continued maturation of user-generated-content (UGC) and UGC-sharing sites like YouTube.  Improvements in technology enable users to create higher-quality content.  In addition, YouTube and similar sites are providing opportunities for the distribution of professional quality content and traditional TV programming. The programming options and reach of UGC channels are only getting bigger, and a lot of content is getting better, making it a stronger competitor to traditional TV for both audiences and advertisers.
All these show an improvement in the access to IPTV, and improvements in its value coming from better content, more programming options, and more choice in when and where viewing occurs.  While cable and DBS can respond to some of these, an emphasize on keeping subscribers tied to their services is not helpful.  Look for a continued decline in cable and other multichannel services, and continued expansion of IPTV as a delivery system for video.


Sources:
"Who are we kidding? Of course it's Netflix vs. cable," Gigacom
"Heavy Streaming Vidoe Viewers Watch Less TV, Nielsen Says" Media Daily News.
"Turner Discloses Tens of Thousands Of Online Viewers Being Added To Its TV Ratings"  Media Daily News
"Survey: Sure, We'll Ditch Cable... Make an Offer!"  Vidblog
"UGC Is All Grown Up!" Online Spin

Where to put your videos & series

Topic suggested by Samantha Bright -

For budding TV program entrepreneurs, there are several sites offering to host videos and series, providing an opportunity to get your work out and build a fan base.  Blip.tv serves more as a hosting service, while Revision3 bills itself as a "network for the internet generation."  Revision3 creates and owns the series and content, but provides opportunities for local production.
Many user-generated programs and series have gained a lot of attention from airing on these websites.

blip.tv - http://blip.tv
Revision3 - http://revision3.com

Latest "Wow" Stats on UGC and YouTube

• Every day, 150 years worth of videos are watched on Facebook.
• Every minute, more than 400 Tweets contain a YouTube link.
• Every minute, 36 hours of new video are uploaded onto YouTube.
• More video is uploaded on YouTube in 60 days than the three major US TV networks created in 60 years.
• More than 70% of YouTube traffic comes from outside the U.S.
• YouTube has localized sites in 25 countries, using 43 languages
• Last year, 55 million people around the world watched IPL (Indian Premiere League) cricket live on YouTube
• Google's speech recognition.software can translate YouTube videos and create captions in 51 languages
• There are more than 7000 hours of full-length entertainment films and shows on YouTube.
• As of February 2011, YouTube had 490 million unique users worldwide, who rack up about 92 billion pageviews and 2.9 billion hours of viewing a month.